Councils of War and Perseus' Challenge — Livy, History of Rome Book 42 (42.57.1–42.57.12), Latin & English

§42.57.1

sub idem deinde tempus consilium et consul et rex habuerunt, unde bellum ordirentur.

At about the same time thereafter, both the consul and the king held councils to decide from where they should begin the war.

§42.57.2

regiis creverant animi vastatione concessa sibi ab hoste Pheraei agri;¹ itaque eundum inde ad castra nec dandum ultra spatium cunctandi censebant.

The spirits of the king’s men had risen because the devastation of the Pheraean territory had been allowed to them by the enemy; therefore, they thought they should advance from there to the enemy’s camp and not give them any further time for delay.

§42.57.3

et Romani sentiebant cunctationem suam infamem apud socios esse, maxume indigne ferentis² non latam Pheraeis opem.

And the Romans also felt that their delay was bringing dishonor upon them among their allies, especially since the allies were highly indignant that no help had been brought to the Pheraeans.

§42.57.4

consultantibus, quid agerent — aderant autem Eumenes et Attalus in consilio —, trepidus nuntius adfert hostem magno agmine adesse. consilio dimisso signum extemplo datur, ut arma capiant.

While they were consulting on what to do — and Eumenes and Attalus were present at the council — a panicked messenger brought word that the enemy was approaching in a large column. The council was dismissed, and the signal was immediately given to take up arms.

§42.57.5

interim placet ex regiis auxiliis centum equites et parem numerum iaculatorum peditum exire.

Meanwhile, it was decided that one hundred cavalry and an equal number of infantry javelin-throwers from the king’s auxiliaries should go out.

§42.57.6

Perseus hora ferme diei quarta, cum paulo plus mille passus abesset a castris Romanis, consistere signa peditum iussit; praegressus ipse cum equitibus ac levi armatura; et Cotys cum eo ducesque aliorum auxiliorum praecesserunt.

Perseus, at about the fourth hour of the day, when he was a little more than a mile away from the Roman camp, ordered the standards of the infantry to halt; he himself went forward with the cavalry and light-armed troops, and Cotys together with him, and the commanders of the other auxiliaries, preceded them.

§42.57.7

minus quingentos passus ab castris aberant, cum in conspectu fuere hostium equites; duae alae erant magna ex parte Gallorum — Cassignatus praeerat — et levis armaturae centum fere et quinquaginta Mysi et Cretenses.

They were less than five hundred paces from the camp when the enemy’s cavalry came into view; there were two squadrons, largely made up of Gauls — Cassignatus was in command — and of light-armed troops, about one hundred and fifty Mysians and Cretans.

§42.57.8

constitit rex, incertus, quantae hostium copiae essent. duas inde ex agmine turmas Threcum, duas Macedonum cum binis Cretensium cohortibus et Threcum misit.

The king halted, uncertain of how large the enemy’s forces were. Then from his column he sent two squadrons of Thracian cavalry and two of Macedonian, together with two cohorts each of Cretans and Thracians.

§42.57.9

proelium, cum pares numero essent neque ab hac aut illa parte nova auxilia subvenirent, incerta victoria finitum est. Eumenis ferme triginta interfecti, inter quos Cassignatus dux Gallorum cecidit. et tunc quidem Perseus ad Sycurium copias reduxit;

The battle, since they were equal in number and no new reinforcements came to help from either side, ended with an undecided victory. About thirty of Eumenes’ men were killed, among whom fell Cassignatus, the leader of the Gauls. And for the time being, indeed, Perseus led his forces back to Sycurium.

§42.57.10

postero die circa eandem horam in eumdem locum rex copias admovit plaustris cum aqua sequentibus; nam duodecim milium passuum via omnis sine aqua et plurimi pulveris erat; adfectosque siti, si primo in conspectu dimicassent, pugnaturos fuisse apparebat.³

On the following day, at about the same hour, the king moved his forces to the same place, with wagons containing water following them; for the entire road of twelve miles was without water and full of dust; and it was clear that, if they had fought at the first sight of the enemy, they would have had to fight while suffering from thirst.

§42.57.11

cum Romani quiessent, stationibus etiam intra vallum reductis, regii quoque in castra redeunt. hoc per aliquot dies fecerunt, sperantes fore, ut Romani equites abeuntium novissimum agmen adgrederentur;

When the Romans remained quiet, having withdrawn even their outposts within the rampart, the king’s men also returned to camp. They did this for several days, hoping that the Roman cavalry would attack the rear guard of those who were retreating;

§42.57.12

inde certamine orto, cum longius a castris eos elicuissent, facile, ubiubi essent, se, qui equitatu et levi armatura plus possent, conversuros aciem.⁴

thinking that, once a fight had started from there, if they could entice them too far from their camp, they themselves, being superior in cavalry and light-armed troops, would easily turn the line of battle, wherever they might be.

Syntax notes4 items

42.57.2vastatione concessa sibi ab hoste Pheraei agri
The phrase 'vastatione concessa' forms an ablative absolute, with 'Pheraei agri' (genitive) functioning as an objective genitive dependent on the noun 'vastatione'. It means 'the devastating of the Pheraean territory being allowed to them by the enemy'.
42.57.3indigne ferentis
The present participle 'indigne ferentes' (here spelled in the accusative plural ending '-is') modifies the preceding accusative plural 'socios' (allies).
42.57.10adfectosque siti, si primo in conspectu dimicassent, pugnaturos fuisse apparebat
A conditional sentence contrary to fact in indirect discourse (or dependent on 'apparebat'). The protasis is the subjunctive pluperfect 'dimicassent', while the apodosis becomes the accusative with infinitive 'pugnaturos fuisse' (future participle + fuisse), serving as the subject clause of 'apparebat' ('it was evident that...'). 'adfectos siti' modifies the omitted subject of the infinitive ([eos], referring to the soldiers).
42.57.12conversuros aciem
An infinitive phrase ('conversuros [esse]') in the indirect discourse dependent on 'sperantes' (in §42.57.11). 'se' (they themselves) is the subject accusative, and 'aciem' (the line of battle) is the object. In this context, 'conversuros aciem' means 'would turn their line of battle' or 'would wheel round to attack'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:42.57.1-42.57.12